Last night, we attended the launch of Windows Phone 8 – the cherry on the top of an image overhaul Microsoft’s been trudging towards for two years. That’s it now; the second coming of Windows is here – desktop, tablet, mobile and games console all singing from the same hymn sheet.

Thing is, as nice as it all is, there’s no escaping the fact that last night caused a lot of confusion. Everyone in the room shared the same odd sense of Déjà vu, stemming from the fact that we were attending the launch for something that’d, well… that had already been launched some months prior.

It’s called the double-launch effect, and it’s a PR’s worst nightmare…

Windows 8 has an official launch date! Microsoft’s next operating system will touch down on October 26th, nicely in time for Christmas. So expect a slew of new PCs and tablets running the OS to launch around the same time, including Microsoft’s own Surface tablet.

Got an iPhone? You probably love the iOS UI, right? Apple’s spent untold hours and money on making iOS as slick as an oily ice rink, but what you gain in fluidity you lack in customisation. Unless, of course, you jailbreak. Read more

Microsoft’s playing its mobile hand wisely at the moment. With Windows Phone 8, it the company plans on being more open, honest and open to compromise than ever before. With rivals like iOS maintaining an increasingly locked down business model, is a more free approach to mobile going to turn the tide in Microsoft’s favour?

It is if Windows Phone 8‘s senior product manager Greg Sullivan has anything to do with it, as he revealed to us in an exclusive talk… Read more

Microsoft’s biggest news week in years has just rounded off with word that it’s launched the SDK for its second screen companion platform, Xbox SmartGlass. What magic is the Beeb and its cohorts about to come up with? Read more

Last night, Microsoft hosted its second big press briefing this week, this time taking to the stage at the Windows Phone Summit in the US to reveal the next evolution of its mobile platform. Windows Phone 8 is on the way, and it looks like a brilliant evolution. Time Google finally saw Windows Phone as a threat? Read more